Akaash closes in on Dhankot

Akaash, who put to fore a good display in long oil conditions (1317), took things up a notch as he scored 1231 pin falls at an average of 205.17 to post an overall score of 2548 at an average of 212.33. Akaash’s display helped him inch closer to Shabbir Dhankot, who is in second place with an overall score of 2584 (avg: 215.33).

At the end of three of the five total batches, overnight leader Vikesh Veer Jain of Delhi remained in lead with a total pinfall score of 594 (avg: 216.17) after 12 games in the first round. His margin of lead over second-placed Dhankot has, however, come down to 10 pins.

Out of the field of 78 bowlers, out of which 30 are yet to play in short oil conditions, top 32 will move on to the second round starting on Thursday.

Results: Round I (long oil+short oil): Vikesh Veer Jain (Del) (2594 pins, 216.2 avg) 1; Shabbir Dhankot (TN) (2584, 215.3) 2; Akaash Ashok Kumar (Kar) (2548, 212.3) 3; Dhruv Sarda (Del) (2392, 199.3) 4; Shashi Kumar (Kar) (2381, 198.5) 5; Dinesh Kumar G (TN) (2357, 196.5) 6; Imran Salim Khan (Mah) (2324, 193.6) 7; Pratik Vijan (Mah) (2282, 190.2) 8; Umesh (TN) (2270, 189.2) 9; Ranjit Rai (Del) (2262, 188.5) 10; Himanshu Puri (Del) (2250, 187.5) 11; Prathyek Staya (Kar) (2235, 186.25) 12; Rajesh Mittal (Del) (2229, 185.7) 13; Naresh Palaniappan (Kar) (2207, 183.9) 14; Vikas Khurana (Del) (2205, 183.75) 15; N Senthil Kumar (TN) (2203, 183.6) 16; Samarjeet Kothari (TN) (2197, 183.1) 17; Athelli Praneet (AP) (2158, 179.8) 18; Sanjeev Sharma (Del) (2130, 177.5) 19; Ganesh NT (TN) (2127, 177.25) 20; Rajmohan Palaniappan (TN) (2117, 176.5) 21; Hitesh Khanna (Del) (2113, 176.1) 22; Omkar Vengala (Kar) (2107, 175.6) 23; Rishab Kanthilal (TN) (2098, 174.83) 24; Sreenivasa Rao (Py) (2080, 173.3) 25; Rajesh Lotlikar (Mah) (2061, 171.7) 26; Thummaluri Rahul (AP) (2028, 169) 27; Mohit Kalra (Mah) (1999, 166.6) 28; Kapil Mohan (Ker) (1982, 165.2) 30; Sajal Sahni (Del) (1973, 164.4) 31; Anil Kumar (Kar) (1972, 164.3) 32; Prajwal SD (Kar) (1971, 164.25) 33; Varun Ganpathy (Kar) (1967, 163.9) 34; Abhishek Maheshwari (Kar) (1965, 163.75) 35; Harjith Singh (Pnb) (1953, 162.75) 36; Ulpala Abhilash Reddy (AP) (1941, 161.75) 37; Vijeesh Kumar TV (AP) (1934, 161.2) 38; Nikesh Ranka (TN) (1872, 156) 39; Sandeep Marwah (UP) (1849, 154.1) 39; Utkarsh Sinha (UP) (1819, 151.6) 40; Akram Khan (Del) (1817, 151.41) 41; Anu Surendran (Ker) (1789, 149.1) 42; Vaibhav Bhatt (UP) (1734 , 144.5) 43; Nilesh Bandiwadekar (Ker) (1721, 143.4) 44; Ujwal Sagar Talwar (Har) (1681, 140.1) 45; Anwin Gopakumar (Ker) (1623, 135.25) 46; Kartikey (UP) (1593, 132.75) 47.